Case of the Chickenpox
by chrichuu
Summary: Sakuno caught the infamous sickness and the Seigaku regulars try to 'help' her with their crazy ways. Then Ryoma suddenly wanted to visit. That can't be good. For Sakuno that is. COMPLETE! / EXTRA2: "Yes, it was my fault." Everyone in the room turned towards the doorway where Tezuka Kunimitsu was leaning. "Tezuka, care to explain?"
1. Uh Oh

A/N: Hey! Chiyoh-chan here! This is a multi-chapter, so I hope you look out for the next chapters! The regulars would mostly be in every chapter, but I assure you, this **is** RyoSaku. Fluff. Yeah, but mostly friendship between Sakuno and the Regulars. Thanks for opening this, and happy reading!

P.S. Gomen ne, if I haven't been updating in FLE. :)

**I**

Uh-Oh

"All set, grandma!"

"Are you sure? Wait! You forgot your case!"

"Thanks!" Sakuno Ryuzaki said running up and about the stairs.

DING DONG!

"Can you please get that, grandma? Maybe it's them already!"

Sumire walked towards the door to find Inui, their resident analyzer.

"What…brings you here?" Sumire asked puzzled that one of her students was at her front door on a well deserved rest day.

"With the occurrence of our previous tennis game and global warming, I had been assigned to knock on each door of our team members to make sure that each one had not been catching any secret codes of sicknesses this pleasant and sunny month, which is 45% heated compared to any other summer."

"What does our previous tennis game have anything to do with it?"

"Nothing in particular, just something I arbitrarily thought of putting up before I start every discussion. You know coach, there is a 67% chance that more people, (ahem) our team members, will pay much awareness to anyone who starts with the recent results of our last tournament."

Sumire had absolutely no idea what Inui was talking about.

"Okay I…guess," The old coach looked weirdly at Inui, "Why don't you join me as I watch Sakuno get on the bus, huh?"

"Is that a command?"

"Yes."

Inui made a gesture of trying to salute, but seeing the haggard face of the old tennis champ, and her reaction to his previously asked _question_, he kept his mouth shut.

He sat down on the pavement by the front door, and waited. Unfortunately, while he was examining and taking notes of a very interesting rock, that he even thought of using its abilities on court, long braids slapped him across the face.

"Sorry Inui-senpai!"

"Do you have everything, child?"

"Hai, Obaa-chan."

Inui then took his attention away from the somewhat attention-grabbing rock and transferred his gaze on the coach's granddaughter. And suddenly, his glasses were forming this fog like effect.

Inui adjusted his glasses and stood up, grabbing Sakuno's arm and further examining it.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, Inui!" Sumire protested, but stopped when she also saw the bump. Two bumps.

"I'm calling the others."


	2. Experienced Doctors

Experienced Doctors

"But grandma!"

"No buts. You have to stay at home."

"But it's only two bumps! Nothing more than mosquito bites, Obaa-chan!"

"Unfortunately, Ryuzaki-chan, there is a 32% chance that you have the bad case of-"

"Fear not, nya! The doctors have arrived!"

"Is Ryuzaki-san alright?"

"Tsk Tsk. Ryuzaki-chan should rest."

"How could she rest with that annoying voice of yours?"

"What did you say!"

"What are they doing here, Inui?" Sumire sweatdropped as the Seigaku Regulars suddenly appeared in her living room.

"I called them."

"I know you called them, but why THEM?"

"I only solicited for Oishi and Fuji's assistance. According to my data, there is an 80% chance that Eiji decided to tag along with Oishi, 90% chance that Momo came after hearing the predicament over the phone, and provoking Kaido to come along with a rant of being selfish would be 99.9%."

Mouths forming o's. Inui was always accurate.

"Well then, it's a good thing you came. I have to go meet with someone." Sumire stated going to the door.

"Oooh. Coach has a date!" Eiji whispered to Momo.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Then they suddenly ran away to the back of the house, seeing that a mere humungous DRAGON had replaced their sensei.

"Grandma, where are you going?" Sakuno quickly bolted to her side.

"I was supposed to meet my childhood friend, and since these _nice_ boys came over to help you out, well, I better get going." Sumire went out of the house leaving Sakuno to herself with some of the Regulars.

RING! RING!

"Moshi Moshi?"

"And DON'T do anything stupid!"

All of them sweatdropped.

"Couldn't she just reschedule?"

"Hoi hoi! Right! You tell her!"

"No you!"

"No, you!"

"I believe Kaido would gladly do the honors."

"Are you asking for a fight, porcupine head?"

"No, are you asking for a fight, Mamushi?"

"A-ano…"

"Stop it! You're scaring Ryuzaki-chan!" Oishi stopped them before they commit indoor wrestling.

"Affirmative by 107%."

"C'mon Ryuzaki-chan. It'll be better if you rest in your room." Fuji declared.

"But what about my camp?"

"Don't worry; Inui and I took care of it for you." Fuji and Inui exchanged looks. Then out of nowhere, they produced two small glasses of Inui juice and gave a toast for their job well done.

"Thank you."

After Sakuno left for her room…

"Now what, nya?"

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><p><strong>AN: **Hello everyone! I'm back with Chapter two! I wanna thank** everyone **who gave me some of their precious time reading this! You know who you are ^^, Please keep supporting! :)


	3. Sadaharu Soup

Sadaharu Soup

"I found this mushroom."

"I found a much bigger mushroom!"

"Momo, that's a poisonous one."

"Oh, it is?"

"Baka porcupine."

"Shut up!"

"Stop it! We have to cook for Sakuno-chan! She must be hungry by now! And sick too nya! Follow me to the kitchen!"

"Since when did he become leader?" Momo looked at Fuji.

"Welcome my friends, to my palace!"

"Your what?" Everyone looked at Eiji with big and weird eyes.

"A guy can dream, you know! Hmp, nya."

"What do you propose, senpai?"

"That you marry this carrot."

"Shut up porcupine! I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Only if you shut up, baka snake."

"Why you!"

Just when Kaido's fist was about to make contact with Momo's face, Oishi got between them.

"That's it! Get out of my kitchen! Both of you watch tv or something." Eiji said and all of them turned to look at him.

"Technically, this is the coach's…"

"I call dibs!"

"URGH!"

"(sigh) I'm gonna talk to them." Oishi said, excusing himself from the kitchen.

"Okay, now that the interruptions are gone, why don't I show you what real cooking looks like nya?" Eiji was definitely living the dream.

"Tell us what to do."

After five minutes of going around the kitchen…

"I'm sorry, I forgot how to do it!"

Luckily, out of nowhere, a recipe fell from the sky—er ceiling.

Eiji and his chum Fuji made the soup while Inui was occasionally getting ingredients from them. Confused, they both stopped their cooking and went towards the data guy.

"Inui, what are you doing?" All of the ingredients Inui dropped on the pot were used to create regular vegetable soup.

Before the analyzer replied, he got out a bottle from his sleeve and added it to the mixture. The once healthy looking soup was now gooey and yucky-looking.

"Sadaharu Inui Soup, of course."

Eiji paled while Fuji's smile broaden.

"There. All it needs now is a delivery person to deliver it to Ryuzaki-chan."

As if on cue, Kaido arrived in the kitchen and got the bowl from Inui. Then he headed towards the stairs.

"Hey, what's that?" Momo and Oishi entered the scene just when Kaido was about to step on the first step.

"Inui Soup."

"WHAT?" Momo and Oishi exclaimed.

"Correction: It is called Sadaharu Inui Soup, and I'll have you know, it is 5% better than any other consommé there is."

"Whatever, we have to stop that!" Oishi was running around like a hen. Fuji went to the living room in the midst of the chaos.

"MAMUSHI!" Kaido was tackled to the floor by Momo, in the process of spilling the created soup.

"Why'd you do that!"

"It was poisoned, you idiot!"

"P-poisoned?"

"What do we do now, nya? Sakuno-chan will die of hunger!"

"Oh, I'm not sure about that, Eiji…" Fuji stated, getting back from the living room.

Suddenly,

"BURNING!"

**o.O**

"Thank you, senpai-tachi!" Sakuno smiled as she tasted the leek soup the Regulars brought. Then she noticed Taka-san.

"Kawamura-senpai, you're here too?"

"Oh, I was just dropping by." The Regulars smiled sheepishly as Kaido and Momo tried to hide the mop and the pail.

Nobody knew where Taka-san came from, but he suddenly burst down the door, racket and a plastic bag full of goodies on his hands, on one of their darkest hours.

"_Ah yes, Taka-san, can you buy a couple of those instant leek soups before you come over?"_

"_Sure, Fuji." _

"Heh. Smart move Fuji." Inui said, sulking on a corner.

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><p><strong>AN:** Hello! It's me once again! Thanks to everybody who placed this to their alerts, faves, and for the reviews! And the readers too! Hope you like this. ^^, I hope you guys give me your thoughts about this! :)


	4. Tezuka Saves the Day

Tezuka Saves the Day

"Sakuno-san's condition is getting worse, coach." Oishi informed over phone. It seems that Sumire was as far as Chiba that she said she would be gone for about two weeks. It's either that, or she was trying to escape the virus, since she didn't have chickenpox in her, uhm, _earlier_ days.

"So…are we gonna stay here?"

"Of course we are; Baka Mamushi!"

"Shut up, porcupine."

"Hmm."

"What is it, Inui?"

"It just occurred to me that I had a miscalculation regarding this situation."

"So you expected this to happen?" Eiji hid behind Fuji.

"Well, according to my data, I only calculated of the coach being gone by a week, but she said informatively over Graham Bell's invention that she will stay in Chiba for twice my calculations."

Inui then brought out a piece of paper with the calculation he was talking about. However, he was ignored.

"Where are we gonna sleep?" Taka-san was yawning. Soon everybody caught the yawn.

"We are going to slumber into the large material on the living room filled and stuffed with 10% random coins and buttons, 75% cotton, and 15% other miscellaneous materials made in factories that varies in colors, designs and patters that are sold traditionally, locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally."

"Would someone please translate?"

"Couch. We are going to sleep on the couch." Inui looked deflated.

"I am not sleeping in a couch for two weeks."

"Can't we just come back in the morning?"

"And leave Sakuno-san here by herself? I think not!"

"Oishi's right nya!"

"Not to mention that the coach might kill us too."

"I'm willing to stay here." Taka-san said so suddenly. The rest had big eyes.

"Will you please teach Kaido some gentleman manners so girls would fawn over him?"

Kaido blushed. "What! Shut up Momoshiro!"

They just ignored the two. They already had enough of their fights for one day.

"Why don't we call someone else to accompany Taka-san here?"

"Ah! Leave that all to me! I know the right person to call nya!"

After 15 minutes…

DING DONG!

"Tezuka? What are you doing here?"

"Eiji called. He said it was a matter of life and death."

Oishi, Taka-san and Inui sweatdropped. Fuji continued to smile.

"Well of course it is! If we don't have clothes, then Sakuno-chan will definitely want to clean it for us, then she'll faint and go to coma and then not wake up for a hundred years! Think of it!"

"Eiji!"

"Where's the death in that?" Momo and Kaido finished fighting and began to pitch in the conversation.

"Well, duh! Ochibi will kill us for making his girlfriend collapse!"

The others sweatdropped. However, Momo seemed convinced. "True, true."

"Just go home already. Kawamura and I will watch over Ryuzaki until you come back."

"Okay fine! Sheesh! No need to be high about it!"

When the door closed, Tezuka's eye twitched.

"You alright, Tezuka?" Taka-san asked.

"Yeah, let's just go upstairs and look over the coach's granddaughter."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hi! Hope you like this chapter! Thank you for the reviews, the favorites, and the alerts! Thanks!


	5. Voice Mails

Voice Mails

"CUCKADOODLEDO!"

"Uncle! Stop imitating the rooster!"

Ryoma got up from his bed, obviously awakened by the fake rooster noise. Since it was summer, and he was a man of time, he quickly got into gear for tennis. However, since he was annoyed with his father, he decided to call his senpais for a match instead.

"Hello!"

"Momo-senpai-!"

"It's Momoshiro Takeshi. It's either I'm eating, or sleeping. Or doing something else. BEEP!"

"That was weird. Momo-senpai should have his phone turned on by now…"

Ryoma then tried to call Fuji.

"Hello. You know what to do after the- BEEP!"

"Even Fuji-senpai?"

_Pok. Pok. Pok. Pok._

"Greetings. You have reached the data man of Seigaku, Inui Sadaharu, inventor of the healthiest beverage, Aozu. There is a 100% chance that I could not answer your call, so I may have to ask you to leave your intentions after the tone of which they call- BEEP!"

"Okay, so that has to be the longest message yet."

"Maybe I should try Kaido-senpai…"

"Don't bother me! BEEP!"

"I am not trying that again." Ryoma bluntly stated.

Taka-san has no cellular phone, and he thought it would be too troublesome if he called the sushi shop. Tezuka was out of the box too, since he might later on receive laps after they go back to school.

He was running out of people to sanely call. He flipped through his phonebook and saw what might be his ticket away from boredom. Ryoma groaned and dialed Eiji's number.

"Senpai-!"

"Hoi hoi! Sorry, I'm fighting crime at the moment. Bye Bye- BEEP!"

_Fighting crime?_

Ryoma randomly dialed numbers. Luckily, it was Oishi he called, who at the moment was the only one awake.

"Hello."

"Please tell me you're not an answering machine."

Oishi looked taken a back and creep out so he checked the caller id.

"Echizen, what are you talking about?"

Ryoma felt as if a huge thing was lifted off him.

"Finally! Someone to talk to!"

"Oh, I must apologize, Echizen. I'm kind of busy right now."

Ryoma then wondered what Oishi might be doing before he called. Then he got his answer when he heard from the background:

"_Arigatou, Oishi-senpai." _

Ryoma's eyes widened.

"Ryuzaki?" He asked himself. He was starting to get suspicious. They better not be…

"Where are you right now, senpai?"

"Oh, I'm at the coach's house."

Oooh. Shocker.

"And the other senpais?"

"They're here too. Although they are sleeping at the moment…"

BEEP…BEEP… BEEP…

"Hello? Echizen? Are you still there? Hmm. Maybe bad connection." Oishi was back downstairs.

.

"Oi! Seishonen! Where are you going?" Nanjiroh gazed over Ryoma from the temple bell.

"Ryuzaki's."

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><p><strong>AN:** Hello! Hope you guys like this chapter! Sorry it took a while for Ryoma to make an appearance, but here he is now! For the next chapter, he'll see Sakuno. Oooh. What do you think will happen? Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, etc. Please review more! :D


	6. Ryoma Visits

Ryoma Visits

After a night of uneasiness, the Regulars woke up to find themselves tangled in a knot of some sort of yoga position.

"Who knew sleeping in a couch could get us into this mess?"

"Shut your mouth, baka! Your breath stinks!"

"Why you!"

Tezuka and Taka-san sweatdropped while Fuji and Inui were exchanging sneaky glances.

"How did we ever fit in that couch?" Tezuka muttered.

This somehow made them all thought.

"Yeah, how did we fit in there?"

"According to my data, one of our players had circumspectly slipped out of the large material last night while all of us were in deep slumber."

"How could ya tell?"

"I am not that skillful in this peak of morning; I am a night person, which everyone in our planet knows are very animal-like and careless."

"Inui-senpai? A night person?" Some of the Regulars tried to muffle their laughter.

"Good morning, everyone in this whole wonderful universe!" Eiji stepped out of a room, which was obviously a guest room.

Momo, Kaido, Inui and even Tezuka were looking at the acrobat for an explanation.

Eiji smiled sheepishly and explained his sudden 'trip' the night before.

"There I was," Eiji began, standing on the coffee table, "sleeping peacefully on my side of the couch, when suddenly, I noticed something."

"What?"

"That my fragile tolerance was screaming with agony!"

All of them sweatdropped.

"Then?"

"I then decided that the only way to cure the pain was for me to go inside my palace and carefully but skillfully take some of the best kind of treats one can imagine." Eiji's eyes were dreamy.

The sweatdrops on the other's heads' doubled.

"And then what happened?"

"Well, I certainly filled my stomach with great food, since, I was indeed sleepy, nya!"

"And so, I-"

"Eiji got up from the couch last night for a midnight snack. He saw the extra room next to bathroom and because he was so full, he basically slept on the floor." Oishi stated as he got out of the kitchen.

Momo, Kaido and Taka-san fell down. Eiji scratched the back of his head.

"How could you let this happen!"

"Huh?"

"You were in a _guest room_, complete with a bed and all, and you decided to sleep on the floor?" Momo was actually, erupting like an active volcano.

But before they could lecture Eiji about being clueless about his surroundings, the doorbell rang.

They all stared at it, waiting for someone to open the door. And with an unheard beat of 1,2,3, all of them except for Tezuka, launched to open the door.

Seeing as his teammates were tied once again in a knot, Tezuka calmly opened the door himself, to reveal the Prince of Tennis, who looked like he ran a marathon.

"Echizen."

Ryoma's eyes widened as he saw the _stoic, uncaring, coldhearted, tennis machine—er _captain.

"Bunchou, you too?"

"What do you mean?"

By now, the regulars have untangled themselves and were now watching from the couch.

"What are you all doing here?" Ryoma exploded.

"Well duh, Ochibi! We're here to fight crime!" Out of nowhere, a background of an animated and poorly drawn city appeared and the regulars were dressed up like superheroes.

"Yeah. I've heard your _voicemail._" Ryoma stated through gritted teeth.

"Fighting crime?"

"Since when does fighting crime have anything to do with taking care of an ill person?"

"We're saving people from being attacked by horrible viruses, and other kind of those stuffs."

While the senpai-tachi began arguing about Eiji's intention of explanation, Ryoma's brain suddenly caught on to something.

"Wait, what do you mean by ill person?"

"Someone who is sick, therefore caused by a-"Inui started.

"I know what it means! I meant who _is_ sick?"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"That Sakuno-san is sick."

Ryoma's eyes widened again, if that was even possible.

**O.O**

Sakuno got out of her bed, uncertain what to do. She'd heard a lot of yelling and stumbling downstairs, and as the presently owner of the house, she felt like she needed to see the commotion.

Even if she was wearing rubber ducky printed pajamas. With matching tennis ball like slippers.

The senpais were the only ones there right?

Naïve Sakuno opened the door, and in a vertically angled 180 degree angle, she was opposite of her long time, die-hard crush.

She stood there, like a tomato statue, as the rest of the people downstairs look at her. Like she was wearing some sort of rubber ducky merchandize. Oh wait, she _was_.

Panicking, little Sakuno hurriedly reached for her door, only for its knob to fall off.

It seems as though luck wasn't on her side today.

Not knowing what else to do, she ran; Inside the bathroom and locked herself.

Ryoma was slightly surprised, but he looked entertained.

"Heh."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hey guys! Thanks for all the love! Hehe. here ya go! The chapter where RyoSaku starts to ensue. Hope you guys like this! Oh, and this might be longer than any of my other chaps. Stay tuned for the next chap! :))


	7. SoapOperaish

Soap-Opera-ish

As soon as Sakuno locked herself on the bathroom, the rest of the regulars along with Ryoma sat down on the couch and have small talk. A very awkward small talk.

"Uhm…"

"So…"

"Yeah, so…"

"Echizen-"

"How did you get here?" Oishi sheepishly scratched the back of his egg-shaped head.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Momo threw his arms in the air before going to Eiji's palace to get a glass of lemonade.

Ryoma, however, was taken aback. "I…walked?"

Eyes rolling in the process.

"Okay…"

Eiji then suddenly thought of an idea from his imaginative mind. "O'chibi! Would you like a tour of my palace?" Sweat drops formed within the rest of the tennis players' heads. Even Momoshiro, who was busy in the kitchen, also formed one.

"I'll pass, senpai."

Another awkward silence formed.

Everybody was getting sleepier by the second. Even if it was early in the morning.

"I wonder how Sakuno-san's doing inside the bathroom." Ryoma's ears perked up when he heard Taka-san speak. "She's been in there for quite some time now."

The tensai and the data analyzer noticed Echizen glancing now and then up the stairs and unto the house's hallways.

Fuji then had this _deviously_ wonderful plan. He stood up and made a gesture towards the stairs.

Tezuka noticed this and asked, "Where are you going, Fuji?"

Fuji opened his eyes for a bit, showed a wider smile and declared, "Me? Well I can't possibly let Sakuno-san be alone in that claustrophobic room,"

"What do you plan on doing?" Ryoma asked calmly. But any person could see that his calm demeanor was forced.

Eiji told Oishi who told Taka-san who told Inui who told Kaido to tell Momo to whip up a bowl of popcorn. But knowing the teenagers, they would probably indulge themselves in a fight first.

"What else, to join her inside of course. I'll try to calm her down." Fuji's eyes were staring down Ryoma's, wanting him to crack and break free from his behavior.

Blue meets yellow.

The sound of crackling could be heard. Kaido came back from the kitchen.

"Oooh. This is getting good," Eiji whispered to Oishi.

Then Momo suddenly came out of the kitchen, trying to juggle three bowls of freshly popped popcorn.

Everyone stared at him, except for Fuji and Ryoma. "What did I miss?"

"Only the best action-drama-romance-friendship movie ever!" Eiji exclaimed, getting a bowl from Momo.

Momo gave out a look of understanding before responding, "What part is happening right now?"

"When the lead man and the somewhat threatening character begins to fight over the lead man's girl. Right about now, one of them is going to explode and go after the lead man's girl, while the random character loses."

All of them stared at Kaido. Wow. Does he watch soap operas?

All the while, Fuji and Ryoma were listening. And each time one of the regulars would comment on how the scene looked like a soap opera episode, Ryoma would twitch inwardly.

After a five-minute staring contest, Ryoma couldn't hold on to the staring contest anymore. Fuji's eyes were creepy like that.

He stood up from his seat and went straight pass Fuji, who was now smiling evilly.

"Ne, where are you going?" Fuji asked with a hint of teasing in his voice.

Ryoma smirked and looked up from his white cap and stated, "Mada Mada Dane."

When Ryoma was out of sight, Momo asked, "We still have lots more to work on? On what?"

Kaido bonked him in the head.

Ryoma stared on the doors ahead of him. One door had no knob at all, while the other one was giving out a strange aura.

He figured out that Sakuno was on the second one. Knocking, he heard Sakuno gasped.

His smirk kept on getting bigger.

"W-who is i-it?"

"Ryoma."

Sakuno, who was sitting on the tiled floor under the shower, flustered.

"R-Ryoma-kun?"

"Yeah, and if you don't let me in, I'll break down the door."

Sakuno thought for a while. If she let him in, then he'll see her with those hideous spots(even if they were only six). If she didn't let him in, then he'll break down the door.

As if he could really break down the door. Right?

"B-break it, t-then."

Ryoma smirked before walking away from the door.

Sakuno, who now stood up from her previous position and heard his footsteps walking away, began getting optimistic. She began dancing. In her head, of course.

But she was stopped when she heard banging outside the door.

Sakuno panicked, thinking that maybeRyoma _could_ break down the door.

"W-what are y-you doing?"

"Breaking down the door."

"W-what! Why w-would you d-do that?"

"You said I could break it."

Sakuno looked at the door with disbelief.

"I was k-kidding." Sakuno stated, her voice still covered with disbelief. Ryoma however, didn't hear, so he continued with his banging.

"T-this is m-made of s-steel, you know! And p-part diamond t-too!" Sakuno desperately tried to make an excuse. Though, she herself knows that Ryoma won't buy it.

Ryoma's smirk got even bigger. "Then we can sell it after I'm done with it."

Sakuno was getting scared. However, she didn't know that Ryoma was actually just tapping the door with his tennis ball in a furious and desperate manner.

The coach's granddaughter was staring at the open window across the door.

"I could jump…"

Ryoma stopped banging the wall and placed his ear on the door. However, something shiny on the wall caught his eye on the end of the hallway. His eye sparkled in a somewhat blackmail-ish way.

Inside, Sakuno was looking down the window, actually thinking of jumping. She was sitting on the window, when she heard the door click.

Panicking, she made an attempt to fit in the obviously impossible porthole-sized window. But due to her clumsiness, her face fell flat on the floor.

Just in time for Ryoma to open the door.

"R-ryoma-kun!"

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><p><strong>AN: Here's chapter seven! Hope you guys like it! And so sorry for the delay. (:**


	8. Mafia Doctor and the Bet

The Mafia Doctor and the Bet

"Oh, h-hi, R-Ryoma-kun…"

Ryoma just smirked and sat across from her and stared.

Sakuno was getting more uncomfortable.

Here she was, with her long-time-no-matter-how-hard-she-try-but-still-couldn't-forget crush, and all she could do was just sit there looking like a tomato.

Wait a second. Wasn't he the one who _wanted_ to go in so badly that he would break down the door? Speaking of the door, how come with all of those noises she heard earlier, it's still in one piece? These thoughts were running around the coach's granddaughter's head.

"N-ne, R-Ryoma-kun…"

Ryoma peered over the Ryuzaki. "Hn?"

"What happened to the door?"

Ryoma's smirk dropped. But knowing the prodigy, he quickly changed the topic.

"I'm rather interested with what you're wearing."

Sakuno flustered and looked at him with doe eyes. She then looked down to see her rubber ducky pajamas. Her blush intensified.

"U-uhm…"

Ryoma leaned back on the bathroom wall, a satisfied smirked graced over his lips. But since he was feeling _a little bit_ mischievous today, he decided to tease her more. Sakuno looked away, but stopped dead on her tracks when Ryoma leaned forward and grabbed her sleeve. "I didn't know Ryuzaki liked ducks."

The poor girl almost fainted from the closeness. Or was it her fever?

Back downstairs, where there are no tormenting Ryoma's, the Regulars where watching good ole' TV. Eiji was hogging all the popcorn, while Taka-san tried to get his hands on one of the bowls. You can't blame him for being hungry, you know.

They were watching some kind of action film, where some doctor who used to be a part of the scariest mafia decided to dedicate his life in ice skating. Inui and Tezuka looked disturbed by the turn of event, but nonetheless, the Aozu maker was taking notes. Maybe he thought that they could use it for tennis matches…?

Suddenly, while the doctor was hiding from injured mafia members who were asking for his help, he slipped on the floor. And it was all because of a random toothpaste bottle.

Fuji, Kaido, Momo and Oishi were all thinking the same thing, "What was a toothpaste bottle doing in an underground mafia base?"

Eiji then burst into tears, blabbering how the doctor wouldn't be able to ice skate anymore. Eiji was flailing his arms, so the bowl of popcorn in his arms flew all the way to Taka-san's face. Oishi had to calm him down, and Fuji had to help Taka-san with his now butter infested face.

Inside the bathroom, Ryoma stopped with his playful acts as they both heard Eiji's wailing. Sakuno looked confused, while Ryoma mentally slapped his face. Instead, he looked the coach's granddaughter from head to toe, and the six spots on her arms sparked his interest.

"Oh, this is just great. The first time in weeks since I've actually hanged out with Sakuno and this happens." Ryoma thought.

"Ne," Sakuno's blush took over. "Until when are you going to have this chickenpox thing?"

For a minute there, Sakuno was still. "Actually, I don't k-know."

Ryoma looked hopeless, but he hid his expression on his cap.

"But Inui-senpai made me d-drink some kind of juice which he said will l-lessen down the growth of m-my s-spots." Sakuno finished.

Then she got really red once again, when Ryoma took her arm and examined her spots. Sakuno was in cloud nine the whole time. But she was brought back to her bathroom when she felt him poke one of her spots.

This immediately set off her stuttering alarm. "W-What are y-you d-doing?"

Ryoma grabbed her other arm and began poking another spot.

"W-wouldn't y-you get i-infected too if y-you come n-near m-me?"

The boy in front of her smirked. "I'm immune to all diseases."

Sakuno, however, was taken aback. "Oh, really?"

Surprisingly, her stutters were too.

"Yeah, and I can prove it." He said, backing her up on the tiled wall.

"S-seriously?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice even though it was faltering. This made the prodigy's smirk grow bigger.

"How about we make a bet then?"

Sakuno's insides were flipping and turning. And butterflies were going out of their respective cocoons.

"What k-kind of b-bet?"

"If I caught your chickenpox for the next three days, then I'll treat you for ice cream, and teach you tennis for the remaining month of summer."

Sakuno blushed. Was Ryoma actually betting for a date? "And i-if I l-lose?"

"Then you'll drop by my house with Ponta everyday for the remaining month of summer."

"W-what!"

"Or unless, you're afraid that'll I'll win…" He taunted, bringing his face closer to hers even more.

The closeness was driving her nuts! "…fine."

Ryoma's expression changed back to his mischievous one as he slowly gave space for the girl. Seeing the glint in his eye, she was suddenly regretting her decision.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Chapter 8! Hope you guys like this! (:**


	9. Another Bet

Another Bet

"You guys are crazy." Ryoma stated his whole face covered with embarrassment.

Momo smirked in a somewhat evil way which made the young tennis genius tense, "What are you talking 'bout, Echizen?"

"This is your entire fault." Everyone inside the house looked at the only Ryuzaki with them. Ryoma, however, smirked before replying. "Was not."

There they were sitting on the couch. Just a normal scene. Until Momo and Eiji decided to join them all the while squishing themselves against the pair, who were trying not to push them off.

"Why don't we agree that this is both of your faults?" Oishi suggested his voice tired from all the bickering.

"But Oishi-senpai-"

"Echizen, I'm kind of tired with all of these arguing…" With that, the mother of Seigaku left the building. "Ryuzaki-chan, I'll be back tonight with some medicine."

After a while, Inui spoke. "What does he mean by real medicine? I believe that one of my Inui Juices would be sufficient for Ryuzaki-chan's sickness." But no one paid him attention. So he left with Fuji, who was going to some kind of party happening across the city.

Fuji smiled at Sakuno before closing the door. He opened his eyes then turned to Ryoma. "Echizen, take care of Ryuzaki-san."

Ryoma smirked in return. The door closed with a soft clicked.

"So Ryuzaki-chan, what do you do for fun?" Momo asked. He and Eiji were getting bored with the whole couch potato look.

Sakuno was in thought for a while. Tezuka had left earlier, while the guys were watching the Mafia Doctor. Taka-san had also left after the movie because all of the popcorn was gone. "They probably wanted to go play tennis now." She thought.

"A-no, it's alright if you all play tennis today. I'm fine by myself in the morning."

With that, Kaido left, muttering something about a late-morning jog. So then they were four.

"Now, how do I get Kikumaru-senpai and Momo-senpai out of here?" Ryoma thought.

Luckily, he didn't have to think much longer since the redhead suggested that he and Momo take the day off. "Ryuzaki-chan will be alright, right? O'chibi's here with her!" He whispered to Momo.

Sakuno, who heard the supposed to be whisper, began to blush. Be in the same house as Ryoma alone? Has the world gone crazy?

Momo then began thinking of the pros and cons of the decision being offered right under his nose. If he came with Eiji, then the he could enjoy the day and stop his eyes from watering from watching too much Soap Operas. However, if the girl would be left alone with Ryoma, who was inexperienced with sicknesses like this, then there could be some serious damage.

But then again, it could give Sakuno time with the prodigy…And he knows how much Ryoma has been craving for some time alone with the girl…

"Okay then! Ryuzaki-chan, we'll be back before you know it!"

A loud bang was heard and all that's left in the house was her and Ryoma.

She could hear the water faucet in the kitchen drip. The same thing goes for the neighbor's dog barking on the other side of the lane she was living in. Silence.

Unable to stand the solitude any longer, she decided to break it. "I-I'm going to win."

Ryoma smirked. "How could you be so sure?"

For a timid person like Sakuno, she sure does have a lot of confidence today.

"W-well, you're in c-close proximate…and it's my third day. I h-heard Inui-senpai mention the other day that with his juice, chicken pox will only last for a week."

"And that helps you win because…?"

Does Ryoma even know when chicken pox is at its worst? "R-Ryoma-kun, today seems like the p-peak of my sickness, some scabs are forming. If you stay within the next three days, you can catch it."

Now that she had mentioned it, Inui had been making successful drinks ever since he came back from America. Nah, he couldn't lose now, could he?

"Well what if she does win? What will that make me?" Ryoma thought. However he dismissed the idea. "Tch. That won't happen. No matter how close I get, I can't get that chicken the second time."

Sakuno stared at her only companion. He looked like he was in the middle of a debate inside his head. She waved a hand over his face. "Ne, are you o-okay?"

Stupid stuttering habits. When will they go away?

Ryoma blinked. He smirked at the concerned look that Sakuno was now sporting. Without further warning, he grabbed the hand that was in front of him. A gasp was heard from the girl.

"You know, for a person who had lived with the Coach for a very long time, I'm surprised that you're clumsy."

At first she thought that Ryoma was being intimidated by her explanation of advantage, but then he started to ask her why she doesn't have her grandmother's features. With a huff, she grabbed her hand back. "I'll have you know, I am not clumsy anymore."

With this little slip, Ryoma's smirk widened. Things were coming down all according to his plan. "Really?"

Sakuno, shocked, began to wonder why there was a sudden mischief behind his follow-up question. "Y-yeah."

Ryoma stood up from his seat and went towards his tennis bag. He grabbed a tennis ball from its pocket and threw it over Sakuno's direction.

"That's my favorite ball. Since you claim that you're not clumsy enough to actually lose something this valuable, I want you to prove it then."

Sakuno stared at the object in front of her. "Huh? I don't get it. How do I prove myself with a ball?"

If it was even possible, the tennis prince's smirk intensified. "Every day for this whole week, I'm going to give you something valuable. Lose one of them, then I instantly win our bet, and have bragging rights over you."

* * *

><p><em>AN: I apologize for the super late update! To tell you the truth, I kind of lost interest with writing for the past few months...so yeah. But I recently got an inspiration. I'm making a two one-shots, and an update for Way the Ball Bounces, and Future Life with the Echizen's. Thanks for sticking by me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and take care! :)_


	10. Bye, Kitchen

A/N: Sorry for the super late delay. But here's chapter ten! Three more chapters to go. Opinions on review? Thank you. :)

Bye, Kitchen

"Ryoma-kun is crazy," Sakuno thought she took a peek on the tennis prince, who was casually flipping through the channels.

There's no way he would win, right?

Right?

Ryoma stopped messing around with the television and turned to Sakuno. "If you're thinking that I'm crazy or something similar to that, then give up then. Let me win the bet, so you don't have to deal with me."

Although, he didn't really mind spending time with her…and he was sure she felt the same way…

"No way I'm losing now."

The tennis prince smirked. "Good. For a second there, I thought you were turning to a chicken."

A vein popped on the girl's head.

Let us rephrase that.

A vein popped on _Ryuzaki Sakuno's_ head.

_Ryuzaki Sakuno—the most patient person you'll ever meet. _

_That she even waited for the thick-skulled prodigy Echizen Ryoma._

She took a deep breath and looked over the clock. It was quarter past ten, and she still hasn't eaten breakfast. Her stomach grumbled.

Ryoma, with his fast and super-amazing-mada-mada-da-ne-skills, heard the poor gut's request.

And decided to do something about it.

He got up from the couch and headed straight for the kitchen. Sakuno watched him go, question marks hanging over her head russet head.

When she was sure the prince was out of range, she asked herself aloud, "What's he up to?"

So, she decided to follow him.

* * *

><p>-Two hours and 15 minutes later-<p>

* * *

><p>12: 30pm—Thirty minutes past noon, and they were lying on the tiled floors of the Ryuzaki kitchen.<p>

_Correction: What used to be the Ryuzaki kitchen._

Pots and pans were all over the place, and a thick gooey-looking thing was present on the only stable pot on the stove.

Oh, and there were also black markings on the walls, and a neon-looking onion stuck on the ceiling.

"Remind me to never let you anywhere near a stove again," Sakuno breathed out.

Ryoma turned to look at her from his position near the oven, nodded his head and sighed.

At first, she seemed elated that the prince had offered to cook, and even though his excuse was he hadn't eaten himself, she was happy all the same. At least she was going to eat.

"If we are ever going to be together, I'll make sure she does the cooking _all the time_." The prince thought discreetly.

"AYAA! What happened in here?"

Both teens turned to look at Oishi, Eiji and Momo, who were all standing on the doorway of the kitchen.

Ryoma got up quickly and dusted himself. Oishi ran passed him to check Sakuno up, after he handed the groceries to the baffled Momoshiro.

"Ryuzaki-chan, are you alright?" He brushed the smudges on the sleeves on her top, before looking straightforwardly at Echizen. "Echizen, what happened?"

"Something smells like burning-"

Just then, Taka-san walked in to the kitchen, carrying another brown paper bag. He dropped the bag in amazement-err, astonishment.

"…guys?"

Ryoma turned his cap down to hide his embarrassment, but Eiji was too quick for him. The redhead took his cap and placed it on top of the fridge—where he knew the prodigy would not be able to reach it.

"I…tried to…cook…" He mumbled.

Silence.

Taka-san placed the groceries on the counter before looking back, "I'm sorry, but did I just hear that you tried to cook?"

"Hai…"

With that, Momo and Eiji began laughing hysterically. Taka-san and Oishi were trying to to contain their laughter, and brushed it off with forced coughs.

When Oishi had composed himself, he said, "Echizen, help us clean up, then."

The prodigy could only nod before getting the broom from the corner.

Eiji had led Sakuno out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Momo had given her a package of oats, for her bath. Tezuka had called and stated that bathing with oats could help heal the itchiness of the chicken pox.

Taka-san was in-charged with cooking, and Oishi was helping with the cleaning.

The what-seems-to-be-an-onion fell on the ground where Echizen was cleaning and rolled off. He looked down and observed the object before picking it up. He was about to throw it, when he felt a fur-like texture-

_Wait. Onions aren't furry. _

He dropped the thing on the ground.

It bounced.

His lip turned upwards into a mischievous smirk.

"I win."


	11. Dare You To End With Milk Cakes

_A/N: This is dedicated to **Tiffy44**, because I promised her I'd post this on June 1st, not on June 16th. Sorry 'bout that. This is the last chapter, btw. Should I still make an epilogue? Review your thoughts, guys. :)_

* * *

><p><span>Dare You To End With Milk Cakes<span>

"Ryuzaki-chan, all you have to do is mix this pack of oatmeal with your normal bath water. If you'd like to add milk, then it's your choice."

"Ano, Eiji-senpai, why would Ryuzaki-chan put milk in her bath? So she could eat it?"

From the kitchen, Oishi mentally slapped his face. Taka-san laughed.

"Silly Momoshiro. Of course not! Girls like milk baths," Eiji stated before turning to Sakuno, "Ne, Ryuzaki-chan?"

Sakuno took the pack of oats from Eiji. "A-ano, I don't really like m-milk baths…"

"Bu-but why? They're good for your skin!" Eiji raged. His eyes were bulging that out to the point that it scared her.

Sakuno waved her arms in front of her in defense. "I t-think it's a waste of milk…I'd rather use it for baking…"

In the background, Momo can be seen nodding his head. "She's right, senpai. And boy, does she make delicious milk cakes."

"Milk cakes?" Oishi, Taka-san, Ryoma and Eiji stopped what they were doing to turn to Momo. Meanwhile, Sakuno had already dashed for the bathroom.

"Milk Cakes? Like hot milk in a cake?" Oishi asked in disbelief, while wiping his hands.

"Yeah. An-chan asked her to bake me one for my birthday last year."

"Eh? How come I haven't heard of this before?" Eiji asked, his eyebrows rising in question.

"Eh, I've heard it's from Sakuno's mother's family."

Just then, Taka-san noticed the dreading glare directed towards the oblivious Momo. He smiled. "Echizen, maybe you could ask Sakuno-san to make you one."

Ryoma scoffed and went back to do his work. Eiji, who also noticed Echizen's act, punched Momo on the stomach. "Look what you did, Momo! You got O'chibi jealous 'cause his girlfriend didn't make him a milk cake!"

Momoshiro then turned to Ryoma, "Oh, I see," He smirked, and with his best impression of Sakuno's voice, he said, "'Ryoma-kun's' getting peeved."

Ryoma threw him a back-off-or-your-dead-to-me-next-time-we-play-a-match glare. Momoshiro immediately shrank back.

Oishi went to Ryoma. "You like her, Echizen?"

"Oishi! She's his girlfriend, nya." Eiji exclaimed from the living room. He and Momo began to watch movies to pass time.

"She's not my girlfriend." Ryoma stated, turning away form the rest of the team.

Oishi was halfway with his job when he realized what the tennis prince had done. _"He didn't deny that he liked her…"_ He thought with a smile.

His smile turned into a playful one.

When Sakuno was done with her oats bath, she came back downstairs wearing an oversized shirt that clearly says I-am-Sumire's-property and a pair of overall pants.

Right when she had set her foot on the living floor, Eiji tackled her.

"Ne, Ryuzaki-chan, Momo told us that you made him a milk cake for his birthday last year. Can you make me one too?"

"U-uhm…I guess it's okay. Do you want them now?"

"Yeah, well, if you can bake now…"

"Sure. I'll just call you when it's done, senpai."

"Yay! Thank you Sakuno-chan! You're an angel!"

Ryoma's eyes instinctively slanted._ "Did he just call her Sakuno?"_

Ryoma-kun subconsciously gripped the deformed tennis ball on his pocket. _"Doesn't matter. I still won the bet. So what if Kikumaru-senpai tastes the milk cake before me? No big deal. She'll give me Ponta every day until the rest of summer. Pssh, so what if milk cake sounds good? I don't care…right?"_

"Echizen, stop spacing out. You still have to clean the ranges." Oishi snapped him off his trance. The prodigy scooted over to the stove, his expression, disoriented.

Taka-san saw Sakuno enter the kitchen and straight towards the pantry. Curious, he made his way over to her.

"What are you planning to make, Sakuno-san? You want me to take over?"

She smiled at the son of the sushi master. "Arigato, Kawamura-senpai, but I think I can handle it."

Taka-san looked unconvinced. "You sure?"

"Tell you what, I'll call you guys when I need help, okay?"

Twenty minutes later, Sakuno's cake was done. She called Eiji over, but was late informed by Momoshiro that the hyperactive redhead had already fallen asleep. Sakuno stared sheepishly at the cake.

"Do you want to taste it, senpai?" She asked Kawamura, holding up the knife on one hand, and a small platter on the other. The cook stared at the delicious cake in front of him.

"Should I, or should I not?" He absentmindedly stated out loud, making Sakuno laugh. She handed him the platter.

"Here you, senpai."

"Arigato."

Sakuno looked up at Taka-san, waiting for his opinion.

Wait for it…

Any second now…

"BURNING!"

Eiji woke up instinctively and ran over to the kitchen. "How was it, how was it? Nya! Taka, tell me what it tastes like! C'mooooon!"

Oishi, Momo and Sakuno smiled expectantly at Kawamura. Ryoma, who was apparently "busy," glared at the range he was scrubbing.

"_Psh. I don't care. I don't care, I don't care, I do-"_

"It tastes so good! Here ya' go, Eiji! Share the goodness with me!"

Eiji took a handful and began eating with Taka-san, their eyes sparkling.

"Maybe I put a lot of sugar, this time…" Sakuno mumbled, still eyeing at the duo.

"Well, it was for Eiji, supposedly…" Oishi muttered.

They turned to Momo to hear his opinion, but he wasn't there. They looked back to the feasting regulars, to see that Momo had joined them.

"There…done." Ryoma panted, his cleaning abilities surfacing.

Oishi raised an eyebrow, "Got the hang of cleaning, ne, Echizen?"

Ryoma ignored him and stood beside Sakuno, watching the mayhem that his seniors were causing.

"Sugar rush?"

Sakuno nodded absentmindedly.

"C'mon." Ryoma started walking back to the living room.

Sakuno followed shortly, after she made sure that they didn't get near any of Sumire's fine china.

She found Ryoma casually sitting on the couch, watching another movie.

This time, it was about a tennis competition, and the players were trying to sabotage each other. It was really weird for Sakuno to see Ryoma watching something so…odd, but she decided to ignore it.

"So, you're cured now, huh?"

Sakuno looked at her spots, and indeed, the spots were gone.

Dang, that oatmeal and milk bath was effective!

"Well, I better get going." Ryoma stood up.

Sakuno gazed at him. She was kind of disappointed that he was going to leave just because she got cured. She was kinda feeling that maybe-somehow Ryoma was starting to warm up on her.

"_Maybe Obaa-chan told his dad to come over, then maybe Echizen-san made him go, and now that I'm okay…"_ Sakuno thought, sighing on the process.

Ryoma opened the door, and right before he went out, he threw the fuzzy onion thing at her direction.

Sakuno didn't catch it, unfortunately, and it hit her head instead.

She didn't recognize it at first, but when she did, her eyes grew at the size of dinner plates. Her cheeks burned with redness.

Ryoma smirked.

"Have fun shopping for Ponta."


	12. Extra1: Favorite Shopper Award

_A/N: Hey there! Thanks for the reviews guys. I totally appreciate it! Anyway, here is an extra for all you guys out there who reviewed and favorite-d. 7 reviews and I'll post another chapter? What do you say? :)_

* * *

><p><span>Extra 1: Favorite Shopper Award<span>

Horio Satoshi cheerfully made his way towards the cashier.

"I am sure I'm going to win that, 'Favorite Shopper' award." He stated proudly while carrying a handful of tennis balls.

He saw an old man walk by with three cartons of milk on the next aisle.

He smirked. "Pssh. I am so totally going to win this!"

Just in front of him, a lady with a nagging child was carrying a small box full of lollipop.

He grinned. "I am going to own this whole place."

He looked around the store, and yes, he was the only one with the most purchases. The prize was still unknown to Horio, but as he always say, well to himself anyway, "If there's a prize, it's always in disguise!"

Yeah, he doesn't know either what that has anything to do with the current situation, but going back to the topic-

He was still mighty confident that he would win the prize-no matter what it was. With 3 years of tennis experience, he was bound to win!

He was chuckling very loudly, when a certain someone trudged over to the end of the old man's line. Horio, still ever confident, smirked at the direction of the new comer.

From his peripheral vision, he could see two long braids, which of course, was already a prize for him, 'cause you know, only Ryuzaki Sakuno would only be sporting hair _that_ long in the summer.

And of course, he maybe has this teensy-weensy crush over the coach's granddaughter. Since when? Since that bear episode.

He turned to face her fully. "Hey Ryuza...za-za-ki!"

His eyes widened to the extent that would put dinner plates in shame. The tennis balls in his arms bounced away happily.

Sakuno looked up, alarmed. "H-horio-kun?"

Horio could only point towards the two baskets that Sakuno had on the floor. The girl looked down and smiled sheepishly at him.

"A-ano..."

Wait for it...

"Why do you have so many Ponta!" It was supposed to be a question, but in the end, it sounded more like a demand with a hint of statement on it.

Sakuno played with the hem of her skirt. "E-Eto, R-Ryoma-kun and I had a bet last week, and I l-lost, so I have to give him Ponta e-every single day for the r-rest of summer."

He was speechless.

The Great Horio looked defeated.

"Defeated by Echizen! Again! And this time, it's personal." Horio thought, his eyes burning straight at the nagging child unconsciously.

"Okaa-chaaaaaaaan!" The little boy cried.

Tsk tsk, Horio could be such a meanie sometimes.

He could only smile apologetically at the mother and child.

"Next."

The man at the counter glared at him. "Boy, where's your grocery?"

Horio immediately looked down to find his tennis balls missing. "EH!"

"If you won't buy anything, then why line up?" The man was shaking his head.

Horio quickly took a magazine from the rack beside him. "This is what I want to buy!"

The man's brows raised in wonder. "You want to buy Make-up Weekly? Okay."

"W-what!"

"Here you go. Have a nice day."

He dejectedly made his way over to the front of the store. The old man he was making fun of before was now snickering at him. As well as the lady and the child. Out of the blue, he heard the announcements.

"Congratulations to the young lady in Cashier 8! She's our, 'Favorite Shopper!' Here is a bucket of tennis balls for you!" Horio saw Sakuno being pestered by the cashier ladies. She blushed and took the bucket of tennis balls. His mouth hanged open.

Sakuno carried the bags all the way over to the front of the store. She saw him looking miserably at her bucket. She smiled. "Here you go, Horio-kun."

His face quickly brightened. He thought, "Yosh! My first gift from Ryuzaki! I will treasure this forever, or my 3 years of tennis experience is useless!"

The automatic doors opened and Ryoma came in, taking the bags from Sakuno. Horio stopped celebrating and eavesdropped on the two.

"Oh, so you got me tennis balls too? Good, 'cause I miss my favorite one." The prince stated, smirking at Sakuno's blushing daze.

She pushed him hard on the shoulder and left the store. Ryoma smirked before taking off his cap, took the bags again, and went running towards Sakuno's retreating back.

Horio watched as the prodigy placed the cap on top of Ryuzaki's head, his shoulder nudging her. Sakuno smiled and even though it was so small that Horio had to squint, he saw Ryoma smile back, too.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. He placed the ball on the wall corner. The doors opened once again.

"Why the long face?" He heard Osakada Tomoka ask.

"Nothing," he stated, but his eyes were still on Ryoma and Sakuno's backs.

Tomoka smiled apologetically at him, then, her face brightened up. As much as she claimed to love the prince, she could picture, and would like Sakuno to have him, in the end anyways. She squealed inwardly, "They look so cute together!"

"C'mon uni-brow! Help me with my groceries!" With that, she pulled him towards the cart section, Horio already forgetting that he was just heartbroken, and immediately set his eyes on the list that Osakada gave him.

Horio looked at Tomoka, wondered, and smiled, "It was only a teensy-weensy crush, anyway."


	13. Extra2: Tezuka the Impromptu King

_A/N: Hello! After 123456789 years, I finally decided to post another Extra! Thank you to everyone who reviewed for the last one I made last year. This fic is dedicated to all the people who stood by me even if I was on hiatus for a while. Do you guys think I should make another extra? If I get enough reviews, I'll post another one! Anyways, enough of me babbling. Enjoy!_

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><p><span>Extra 2: Tezuka the Impromptu King<span>

Sniff.

Sniff.

Sniff.

Sniff-

"Alright, we got it, Oishi-senpai!" Momo exclaimed.

The rag that was in his possession flew directly to Kaido's face. "Momoshiro!"

"What do you want, you bak-"

Momoshiro Takeshi started rolling on the floor, eyes wide with unshed tears.

Inui came barging in the kitchen with Fuji and Taka-san in his tow. "What is going on in here?"

Fuji, with his ever-smiling face, went up to Kaido and lightly examined his face. "Kaido, I think you got a _little_ something right...all over your face."

Momo still hasn't stopped laughing.

Eiji had joined him, while Taka-san had went up to Oishi who was furiously scrubbing the life out of the freakishly clean work tops that the Ryuzaki's owned.

Inui simply wiped the dirt on Kaido's face with the latter's infamous green bandana.

"Oishi, I think that's enough," Taka-san stated, clearly confused why the vice-captain of the team was still cleaning when the whole kitchen looked absolutely spotless. And different.

Emphasize on different.

Oishi ignored him and made a huge leap towards the other side of the kitchen where the pantry was. "Stop talking nonsense! When Coach comes back later on, she is going to freak out when she sees the condition of her kitchen!"

Just then, one Echizen Ryoma and one Ryuzaki Sakuno came into the kitchen with several empty cans of Ponta.

Sakuno looked up from balancing the cans to the now newly renovated kitchen. "Senpai, what happened to Obaa-chan's kitchen? She's going to freak out!"

Ryoma, with his impressive instincts, carefully sidestepped towards the girl's direction and on timing, caught all of the Ponta cans that dropped out of her grasp.

Now, if it were a regular day, Sakuno would have been amazed at what he did, but right now, the kitchen thing was her main priority.

"What's wrong with it, Sakuno-san? Oh wait, don't tell me!" Oishi lightly turned the (new) elephant figurine precisely 45degrees to the left, "There. It was the elephant, wasn't it?"

"Senpai..."

Oishi turned away from his masterpiece of a kitchen and looked at Sakuno, who had horror written across her face, "Sakuno-san?"

As calmly as she can, she gave her entire attention to Oishi. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, "What happened to all of Obaa-chan's old stuff in here!"

"Oh, I sent them down to the junkyard. Why?"

"Obaa-chan really, _really_ values her old things in here!"

The look of horror that Sakuno sported quickly got mimicked by Oishi.

"Wait, Coach is one of those people who likes antique stuff? Now I know what to get her for Christmas, nya!"

"Hmm. I always thought of Coach as being one of those modern-furniture type of people."

"Well, we learn something new everyday."

"Tch. Mada mada dane, Senpai."

Oishi's petrified eyes turned directly at Ryoma's.

"It's your fault!"

Fuji tried to bring Oishi's pointed finger down and out of Ryoma's range, but Oishi just brought it back up again.

"Why?"

"Because you were-"

Momoshiro stood up from his position on the floor and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I get it. What Oishi-senpai is trying to say is that instead of you, Echizen, cleaning when you guys destroyed the whole kitchen a couple of days ago, you instead looked at that furry thing that was sticking on top of the ceiling the whole time."

The rest of the people in the room, except for Oishi and Fuji, looked at Momo with weird eyes.

"Oh!"

"Eiji-senpai?"

"What Momo-chan is trying to say, is that, you, O'Chibi, was busy thinking of that deal or whatever you and Sakuno-chan had instead of fixing your mess. That led to Oishi here to mentally have a breakdown leading to him renovating the whole place because he worries that Coach will kill all of us! Am I right, Momo-chan?"

Said Momo-chan nodded.

Sakuno, on the other hand, was busy blushing like a ripened tomato, still with her petrified eyes. "H-how did you g-guys know about t-that?"

Fuji opened his eyes. "Oh, Ryuzaki-chan, it's us you're talking about."

Everyone, like literally everyone, felt chills up their spines.

Then,

"Oi brats, I'm back! Is Sakuno okay now?"

Sakuno forgot about her whole ordeal with Ryoma and how embarrassed she was and started looking at the job that Oishi did.

It didn't look too bad. The place looked absolutely stunning, and it fits the whole house layout too, but Ryuzaki Sumire is known to be possessive when it comes to her antique collectibles.

"Sakuno-chan, what are we going to do?" Taka-san stage-whispered to the terrified granddaughter.

"Err...?"

"We are going to die!" Oishi had another silent screaming attack.

3, 2, 1...

"What happened to my antiques!"

"Coach, it's because..."

"Now, now, Obaa-chan, how was your trip?"

"Please don't kill us, nya!"

"It was Senpai's fault!"

"Yes, it was my fault."

Everyone in the room turned towards the doorway where Tezuka Kunimitsu was leaning.

"Tezuka, care to explain?" The retired tennis player rubbed her temples while slowly sitting down on one of the new chairs that the tennis team had used to replace her _very comfy _Persian cushions.

"Yeah Tezuka, explain." Fuji stated, his eyes closed, but if one closely looked, his stance was faltering and his smile was a bit forced.

"I told the team that you might like Germany's new modern collection that had been featured in Japan,"

Inui cleared his throat. "Yes, and since you were in Chiba at the moment, we decided to surprise you."

"We took care of Ryuzaki-chan too!" Momo exclaimed, his hand casually patting the mentioned girl's head.

Sakuno looked sheepish.

"Well, I guess I like it."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Yes, even Tezuka.

Inwardly, of course.

"However," the whole team tensed once again, "what happened to my furniture, Tezuka?"

"Ah, they're in a better place now, Sensei." Oishi replied calmly, but inside, oh, he was breaking down from the stare that the Ryuzaki was giving him.

"Alright. Well, I guess you guys did a good job."

"On the renovating thing?"

"Yes, and of taking care of Sakuno." Ryuzaki smiled at them genuinely.

Sakuno smiled at them, her worry out of the way, "Thank you, senpai-tachi!"

The Seigaku Tennis Team finally, finally breathed out their final sigh of relief.

"What is he doing here?" Sumire pointed out to Ryoma, who was carrying loads of cans. Sakuno rushed back to his side and took her share of cans.

"Collecting recycling." Ryoma casually answered.

Sumire shrugged and brought her attention back to her bag that she left by the staircase. "You guys go along now. I'm tired from my trip."

"Well that was close." Eiji stated as soon as they said their goodbye's to the household.

"Thanks, Tezuka." Oishi stated to Tezuka, who was back to his old 'I-am-great-therefore-I-am' expression. He nodded and waved, heading back to his house.

"Bunchou was so awesome today!" Momoshiro exclaimed.

The chatter went on for the whole regulars until they rounded off the corner.

The subject of their topic, who was slowly walking to his street, when he was positively sure that they weren't there anymore, sighed really loudly, and smirked.


End file.
